(RNS) In the warrants, according to reports by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a young woman in the sect said she was hit with a belt and a coat hanger. Another female, a pregnant 17-year-old, told nurses at a hospital she was beaten by her brother, sexually abused by her father and forced to marry a 30-year-old man when she was 15.

TORONTO (RNS) Last month, about 150 members of the group Lev Tahor (“Pure Heart”) decamped from a village north of Montreal to Chatham, Ontario, about 200 miles southwest of Toronto. Comprising about 40 families, the sect fled just before a Quebec court ordered 14 children into foster care.

The American Christian Church is at the cusp of an orphan care and adoption movement, and Johnny Carr is one of its most outspoken and influential proponents. In his new book, Orphan Justice: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting, Carr tells readers that caring for orphans may look different than they assumed. He shares practical ways for Christians to get involved beyond simply adoption, and he urges everyone to move from simply talking about caring for orphans to actually doing something. Johnny Carr serves as Director of Church Partnerships for Bethany Christian Services, America’s largest adoption and orphan care agency. He and his wife, Beth, reside outside of Pittsburgh with their five children, three of which are adopted.

JM: You say the orphan care movement has been “reduced” to a focus on adoption. In what way is the growth of adoption non-desirable?